At this video filmed at CrossFit Invictus, Coach Mike Burgener explains why he has athletes jerk from behind the neck.

“Forces me to go straight up. My elbows are where automatically? They’re down. They’re already externally rotated. And I can just really drive the heck out of ’em,” he says. “But the reason that I give my athletes jerk behind the neck is because of confidence.”

Casey, one of Burgener’s sons, could clean and jerk more than 493 lb. at his best. But his best jerk from behind the neck was 550 lb.

After 45 years of coaching Olympic weightlifting, Mike Burgener still assesses athletes the same way: stance, grip, position.

“You just eyeball it real quick and you make the changes right… Continue Reading

At this CrossFit Invictus Training Camp, longtime Olympic-weightlifting coach Mike Burgener works with one athlete who is not reaching full hip extension and is therefore being… Continue Reading

2 Comments on “Fixing the Jerk”

1

wrote …

This was an awesome learning experience for me....Something I will apply tomorrow morning when I get into the gym...Never thought of it that way, and I am notorious for going to far back with my foot...very cool

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